Cultural Heritage and Tourism Management

This assignment explores the complex relationship between cultural heritage and tourism management. It requires students to analyze the impact of tourism on cultural sites, consider ethical considerations in managing these resources, and discuss strategies for sustainable development that benefit both local communities and visitors. The essay should draw upon academic research and provide specific examples to support its arguments.

Heritage and Cultural Tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Development and growth of cultural and heritage industry..................................................1
1.2 Conflicts in conservation of cultural and heritage resources................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Purpose of cultural and heritage attractions in meeting customer's need..............................4
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Impact of various types of ownership on heritage management...........................................7
3.2 Responsibilities and roles of various organisation in cultural and heritage industry............8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Methods for interpretation in cultural and heritage industry for tourists..............................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Tourism is considered as one of the major growing business all around the world. It helps
in serving many purposes of tourists which includes recreation and fun to travel abroad,
travelling for educational purpose and with the aim to gather necessary experience by travelling
for business purpose as well as for fun. This study is based on the topic of heritage and cultural
tourism of various industry of tourism of UK. In this report, growth and development of various
industries with tourism industry is necessary, which will be discussed in this report. Another
significant factor can be termed as the value of heritage and cultural attraction within various
sector of tourism (What is meant by "cultural heritage"?. 2017). Then responsibilities and roles
of such industries will be important for development and growth of relevant organisations.
Different types of interpretation which affect cultural and heritage industries will be also
analysed in this report.
TASK 1
1.1 Development and growth of cultural and heritage industry
There are almost 29 or more UNESCO recognised heritage sites in UK, which includes
archaeological sites, natural views like Inaccessible and Henderson Islands, attractive views and
cultural sites like Saint Margaret's church, Westminster Abbey, Royal Botanical Garden etc. The
development and growth of cultural as well as heritage sites below such categories can be
discussed as follows: Attractive: UK's heritage sites are very attractive in nature. For instance, Royal Empire
Frontiers, also known as modern Germany forts. Industrial landscape of Blaenavon is
also an attractive industrial based site that includes attractive workers' house, public
buildings and quarries. All such sites can be reached easily by travellers by easy
transport and are having long sustainability (Ashworth and Page, 2011). Training in
regards with skill development of staffs and employment is arranged by Blaenavon
industrial landscape. Natural: There are around four natural sites in UK which includes Inaccessible Islands,
Gough and Henderson Islands. Natural sites can be like coastlines such as marine zone in
Gough Island, various landscapes, forests, woodlands in Henderson Islands, national
parks, Henderson fruit dove, wildlife such as Henderson lorikeet and Henderson crake.
1

Different other habitats like green sea turtle, pacific rat etc. All these natural sites attract
tourists who contributes for the growth of industry. Contracted heritage environment: Various constructed and man-made sites like
Blaenavon industrial landscape, Maritime Mercantile city, Derwent valley mills, city of
baths are called as industrial sites. There is also one historic romantic architecture known
as Blenheim Palace. All such places are considered as the great attraction for travellers
and can serve as the development source for the tourism industry.
 Cultural heritage: There are various cultural sites in UK which attracts many tourists.
All heritage sites are having there own cultural importance regrading various regional
and national costume. For an instance, it can be said like Maritime Greenwich, where
there is development of understanding of astronomy and navigation, London Tower is
considered as power symbol, Royal Botanical garden used to gain knowledge about
botany and ecology, Westminster abbey, palace of west minister which is called as
Gothic Revival Architecture (Barbieri and Mahoney, 2010).
However, contribution which is gained from various level with respective regional aims
assist in development of heritage and cultural sites for improvement of tourism and travel
industry in UK. From past year evidence, several famous events like Olympic games provide
sponsorship to London, carried out form different people who come to visit various places of
London. At the time of such events, people who come there visit such places and serve purpose
of both business as well as fun. In the grand event of Queen Diamond Jubilee, there were various
occasions that took place at several historical places of London, due to which there were much
development and changes in these places.
1.2 Conflicts in conservation of cultural and heritage resources
Tourism is considered as the complex phenomenon with ecological, biophysical,
political, social as well as economic perspective. Tourism has shown itself as positive force for
cultural as well as natural convention. As per the case study of Lhasa, there are various
potentiality of conflicts among heritage conservation and cultural resources (Chen and Chen,
2010). Various potential conflicts of Lhasa can be discussed as follows:
2

Tibet is considered as roof of the world and is worldwide tourism destination that provides
unique intangible culture, high-altitude treks, monasteries etc. Government of China recognise
potential of Tibet and consider various large scale projects there. However, these projects
creates various conflicts. There was London-based free Tibet campaign which boycott many
developments regarding projects and said that they decrease the heritage's importance in Tibet.
Various conflicts are also there in conserving cultural and heritage resources of Lhasa and can
be explained as: Lack of places presentation: There are various good place in Lhasa, but tourists are not
aware about it as there is lack in presentation of such places in front of host and local
communities as well as tourists and is considered as talking conflict. Due to this, lack of
awareness among people affect government support for protecting such places and also
concentration of public (Chen and Chen, 2010). Disrespect of interest and right of tourists: If the personal interest of property owners
in Lhasa, host community and indigenous people will not get respected then activities,
knowledge, beliefs and practice will get adverse effect and will be a conflict in
conserving heritage and cultural resources. Physical attribute's misinterpretation: Improper presentation and misinterpretation of
3

various physical attributes such as cultural expression and intangible aspects will lead to
misunderstandings and narrow concepts regarding cultural heritage. Land use and poor planning: If potential conflicts among conservation of culture and
tourism project cannot be minimised and recognized then it will lead to use of different
sites and poor planning, lifestyle of host community as well as land over heritage. Conservation threat against growth: If designers or planners or authority of heritage
sites believe in maintaining outdated sites without reparation or up gradation of sites for
further development then it will be difficult for tourism business to attract more
customers (Choi and et. al., 2010).
 Lack of innovation and new technology: If there will be lack of innovation and use of
advanced technologies, education opportunities for staff, integrated training, interactive
software as well as lack of interpreters, policy makers, researchers, conservators, tourists
operator and architects then this thing can have large effect on development of tourism.
TASK 2
2.1 Purpose of cultural and heritage attractions in meeting customer's need
Most of the visitors who come in UK for the purpose of travelling, visit various heritage,
historical and cultural spots. These cultural and heritage places of attraction meet requirements
and needs of visitor in various ways, which can be explained as follows:
 Education: Visitors, who visit heritage and cultural places come to collect large amount
of knowledge and information for the purpose of personal preference and academic
learning. Several higher education programs are introduced now a days on such places of
cultural attractions, which serve as great place to gain knowledge. Victoria and Albert
Museum make arrangement of various educational programs with the help of labels,
dramas, thematic stories, signs etc. which supports to give true view of museum to
tourists (Cuccia and Rizzo, 2011).
4

(Source: http://www.artstur.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Victoria-Albert-Museum-exterior-
view.jpg)
 Research: Visitors also visit such places for various purpose regarding research. One of
this place is Science Museum. Tourists visit to see scientific changes which are preserved
here and there are also various discoveries that took place in UK. Main attractions of this
museum are laser harps, robots, lie detector etc. Visitors are also allowed to do various
experiments here that can help in learning of an individual (Devesa, Laguna and Palacios,
2010). So interest of people in technologies and science are more attracted towards this
place.
5
Il
lustration 1: Victoria and Albert Museum

(Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/ScienceMuseum.jpg) Recreation: In present situation, people are very busy as compared to earlier times,
where there was low scope of recreation because of shortage of time. That's why, it can
be seen that people make more earning and spend more in order to get much recreation in
shot time span. In present case, within the short time cultural and heritage sites are
considered as bet alternative.
 Entertainment: All such places are considered as the main entertainment source of
visitors. Going at such place, visitors can watch various natural as well as creative scenes
which can only be seen in pictures earlier (Frey and George, 2010). At present time,
women can also be seen as more interested who wants to spend their free time in
travelling at such places.
However, the success of various travel industry is dependent on segmentations of
customers and also on their preference. In such case, selection regrading the target group is very
significant. For instance, more frequent travel is done by students in comparison to employed
persons. Students mainly travel to other places in regards with research an educational purpose.
On the other hand, employed person travel with their families for entertainment and recreation.
Above all, it is very important to understand about the income group. People with high income
6
I
llustration 2: Science Museum, UK

visit long distance places whereas people with middle income goes to travel urban and local
places which are more affordable in comparison to long distance places (Hayllar, Griffin and
Edwards, 2010).
TASK 3
3.1 Impact of various types of ownership on heritage management
Management of cultural and heritage sites involves various types of ownership due to
different collaboration as well as location in which they make operations. On the basis of
different ownership, responsibilities and roles of organisation are also distinct. At present,
tourism is considered as the lucrative business profession as it makes more and more profit.
Differentiation in location are also there which create introduction of various public and private
organisations. Generally, cultural and heritage sites are operated with the help of government and
various non-profit organisations, but there are several valuable assets that demands initiative and
care for emergence of private sectors and preservation. The effect of distinct kind of ownerships
can be defined as follows: Political: Governmental control have taken large amount of initiative. They make
arrangement of different projects, brings expertise from abroad and home for the
maintenance of heritage sites (Hjalager, 2010). Control of public will be supportive in
providing higher assess to people, great learning scope of visitor with low costing level.
There are several policies which are made by political parties and government of
particular company which affects the tourism in that area. Each and every tourism agency
or organisation must keep themselves updated regarding the latest rules, regulations and
policies. Institutional: The sites run below private institutional control, can also help in the
success of tourism. Example of this can be described as 'Kosovo' which assist in the
establishment of several institutional projects by maintaining database of cultural heritage
and also gain support from various national authorities. Different private institutions are
being developed in various areas where there is high tourism (Jimura, 2011).
 Collaboration: It is also seen that coordination and collaboration of public and private
corporation works together for the development and operation of various heritage sites.
With the help of such collaboration, various rehabilitation projects are also operated in
7

distinct stages. There are several policies which can only be availed by public
organisation, so it will be beneficial for private organisations if they will work together
with them so that they can also make benefit from such policies.
These all are considered as positive sides, whereas there are also various negative
impacts. The competition in such sectors affect various economic factors. In competition, if
institutes of government are not ready to make profit then it will largely affect different private
sectors not providing them any kind of scope regarding competitive advantage. Also when
organisation who are owned by private owners works regularly or continuously for the
technological development and also for improvement of process, they are also concerned for the
generation of profit (Keitumetse, 2011). On the other hand, public sectors are strongly willing for
keeping conservation of various heritage property.
3.2 Responsibilities and roles of various organisation in cultural and heritage industry
In UK there are various public organisations, specialist conservation groups, non-
government agencies, government departments as well as voluntary bodies. Commission for
England and historic buildings is a major non-governmental organisation having various
responsibilities and are responsible for the maintenance and preserving of several archaeological
sites and historical landscapes. This organisation takes care of all the sites of UK having
historical impact, they look for the time to time maintenance of such sites so that there will be no
effect on tourism. This organisation maintains the amount of tourism and also contribute in the
overall development of sites.
Another main trust having responsibility in cultural and heritage sites is 'The National
Trust' who is responsible for protecting and preserving beauty of various place, furniture and
pictures, historic buildings and several arts etc. Apart from this they are also having
responsibility in regards with animal and plant (Logan, 2012). They are having interest in
preserving animal as well as plant life. However, roles and responsibilities of such organisation
in their operations are very different. For example, in case of organisation of government, the
overall funding for the maintenance is high in comparison with the private organisation, that is
why, it is very necessary that private organisations must be well versed, effective and efficient in
their working. Besides this, the organisation should maintain various legislative and advisory
regulations and rules in their working and operations. However, there is also one significant
thing which means, the modifications and changes in several technologies, profit or revenue
8

generation, introduction in regards with new merchandising as well as attraction sites. All such
types of changes will be able to bring large amount of revolutionary success in industry.
There are many other organisations which are working for preserving cultural and
historical monuments in UK, these organisation not just take responsibility for the maintenance
of various sites but also contribute in the overall growth and development of all these sites. The
tourists or travellers who visit country are generally of foreign linguistic dialects or foreign
location. So in order to enhance or increase their visit in a country, they should get assistance
with several expert facilities such provision of escorts and guides who are well trained and
masters in a particular or any other language. This thing will also assist tourists in understanding
well regards with various facts and history in association with the place which they are visiting
(Loulanski and Loulanski, 2011).
TASK 4
4.1 Methods for interpretation in cultural and heritage industry for tourists
The corporation and the government generally make use of various approaches in order
to make presentation of opportunities and features of different sites. For instance, Victoria and
Albert museum has made arrangement of several methods like sign, labels, thematic stories and
drama for upholding and conducting distinct fairs and historic events. All such types of methods
supports potential visitors in order to get entire idea regarding respective cultural and heritage
sites. In order to draw perception of visitor, Museums which are there in London make
arrangement of drama and role playing on the basis of distinct antic history of several antic
collection existing in museum (Keitumetse, 2011).
People from various other countries come to visit heritage and cultural sites of UK. Apart
form such internal promotional activities, authority of heritage site and mainly the cultural and
heritage industry will be able to take help of distinct world-wide media coverage or broad level.
For instance, the industry will be able to publish several material in regards with business
prospectus by holding different cons and pros regarding the cultural and heritage sites. They also
make organisation of distinct interactive technologies so as to get information which is available
with the desired visitors as well as with others. In addition to this, various audio-visual
documentaries is also considered as an effective way to make people concerned regarding
heritage sites as well as business operations.
9

The main aim behind use of such interpretation is to enrich and provide visitors with such
type of experience that will assist in understanding the importance of the place which they will
visit (Jimura, 2011). Cultural and heritage is one of the major industry that is very helpful for the
overall economic development, as tourists are the main factor which creates jobs in many
industries and also help in the generation of revenues and profit for the overall development and
growth of industry.
CONCLUSION
Cultural and heritage sites plays significant role in order to uphold culture of country,
attributes, tradition, long history and ethical norms. All such makes roles of culture and heritage
sites important for the citizens of country and also for various visitors all around the world. In
present report, success of tourism and travel business is in direct association with the cultural and
heritage sites and that is why it is very important to uphold original picture of heritage and
cultural sites so as to attract more and more visitors. There are various visitors who make visit
for research and gain knowledge on the basis of various sites which are irrespective of the
entertainment. In such cases, if they will not be able to understand real picture and may get de-
motivated. And due this, they must be having less attractions to visit next time. From the above
report it can be concluded that different organisations are having roles and duties in order to
maintain heritage and cultural view of industry.
10

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ashworth, G. and Page, S. J., 2011. Urban tourism research: Recent progress and current
paradoxes. Tourism Management. 32(1). pp.1-15.
Barbieri, C. and Mahoney, E., 2010. Cultural tourism behaviour and preferences among the live‐
performing arts audience: an application of the univorous–omnivorous
framework. International Journal of Tourism Research. 12(5). pp.481-496.
Chen, C. F. and Chen, F. S., 2010. Experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction and
behavioral intentions for heritage tourists. Tourism management. 31(1). pp.29-35.
Chen, C. F. and Chen, P. C., 2010. Resident attitudes toward heritage tourism
development. Tourism Geographies. 12(4). pp.525-545.
Choi, A. S., and et. al., 2010. Economic valuation of cultural heritage sites: A choice modeling
approach. Tourism Management. 31(2). pp.213-220.
Cuccia, T. and Rizzo, I., 2011. Tourism seasonality in cultural destinations: Empirical evidence
from Sicily. Tourism Management. 32(3). pp.589-595.
Devesa, M., Laguna, M. and Palacios, A., 2010. The role of motivation in visitor satisfaction:
Empirical evidence in rural tourism. Tourism management. 31(4). pp.547-552.
Frey, N. and George, R., 2010. Responsible tourism management: The missing link between
business owners' attitudes and behaviour in the Cape Town tourism industry. Tourism
management. 31(5). pp.621-628.
Hayllar, B., Griffin, T. and Edwards, D., 2010. City Spaces-Tourist Places. Routledge.
Hjalager, A. M., 2010. A review of innovation research in tourism. Tourism management. 31(1).
pp.1-12.
Jimura, T., 2011. The impact of world heritage site designation on local communities–A case
study of Ogimachi, Shirakawa-mura, Japan. Tourism Management. 32(2). pp.288-296.
Keitumetse, S. O., 2011. Sustainable development and cultural heritage management in
Botswana: Towards sustainable communities. Sustainable development. 19(1). pp.49-
59.
Logan, W., 2012. Cultural diversity, cultural heritage and human rights: towards heritage
management as human rights-based cultural practice. International journal of heritage
studies. 18(3). pp.231-244.
Loulanski, T. and Loulanski, V., 2011. The sustainable integration of cultural heritage and
tourism: a meta-study. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 19(7). pp.837-862.
Online
What is meant by "cultural heritage"?. 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/illicit-trafficking-of-cultural-
property/unesco-database-of-national-cultural-heritage-laws/frequently-asked-
questions/definition-of-the-cultural-heritage/>. [Accessed on 19th July 2017].
11